Improvement in the manufacture of tubes for lining ordnancf



J. G. BUTLER.

MANUFACTURE OF TUBES FOR LIN'ING ORDNANCE.

No.17Z,66. Patented Jan. 25,1876.

FIGIV.

FIG-.I.

FIG.V.

e I V HI!I!ITllllllllllIllllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll"WITNESSES:

YLPETERS. PNOTDUTHDGRAFHEI WASHINGTON, D.C.

JOHN G. BUTLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES FOR LlNlNG ORDNANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 172,606, dated January25, 1876; application filed December 20, 1875.

In the manufacture of wrought-iron tubesv used as a lining for largeguns, and intended to withstand the heavy and repeated internalstrainsdue to the explosion of gunpowder, it has been found very important tofollow someplan of construction by which the fiber of the iron shall runcircumferentially about the tube. This has been found not onlyimpracticable by the usual lap-weld process, (lapping the edges of along strip, and passing it at a welding heat through rolls,) whereinlong tubes the fiber of the iron must necessarily run longitudinally,but that process itself has not been found practicable with any save avery light character of tubing, such as is suitable for gas, steam, orwater pipes. Consequently, in the class of large tubes above referredto, which may be required of indefinite diameter, length,and thickness,and in which to still further increase their strength it is deemedimportant, to have the fiber of the iron disposed circumferentially, ithas been customary to construct them by coiling a long bar around amandrel, and then jump-welding these coils together in sufficientnumbers to produce a tube of the required length.

The objections to the first (or lap-weld) process are, that a tube oflarge size and thickness cannot, at least without great difficulty, beproduced, and, even if produced, would be deficient in tangentialstrength, because the fiber of the ironis longitudinally disposed withreference to the tube. The objections to the second or coiling processare, first, that it is expensive, and, second, the great uncertainty ofthe jump-weld, which, together with the great number of coils in a tubeof even moderate length, renders it extremely difficult to obtain aperfect tube-that is, one without more or less well-defined weld-marks,which are apt to open seriously when subjected to the heavy strains ofdischarge, and to the and afterward uniting these sections,so as to forma continuous tube of any desired length.

I willnow proceed to give in proper detail an explanation of myinvention, referring for this purpose to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- .Figure I represents. in perspective, a

wrought-iron plate, the fiber of which is indicated by the direction ofthe arrows. Fig. II

is a crosssection through a short tube formed by bending and lapping theplate shown in Fig. I, after which the joint 'is welded. Fig. III is across-section through a tube similarly constructed, the edges of theplate having been previously beveled. Fig. IV represents a longitudinalsection through several divisions or sections of a finished tube,showing the manner of uniting the said sections. Fig.

V is an elevation or exterior view of a portion of a finished tube, asin Fig. IV. Fig. VI represents, in longitudinal section, a combinationof a coiled tube and an inner tube formed of welded sections.

To construct a large tube on my plan, first roll a wrought-iron plate ofthe desired thickness and of any convenient length; then dress or trimthis long plate upon a planer along both longitudinal edges, so that itshall be of a width corresponding to such lengths of sec tion as may beconvenient to manipulate; next divide this long plate across the fiberinto short plates of a length equal to the circumference of the'desiredtube, as shown in Fig. I.

The next step in the process is to scarf or bevel the opposite edges ofeach of these short plates across the fiber, as shown at a a, and b b inFig. I, after which the plate heated, if necessaryis bent around aformer in such a manner that the joint shall be lapped in properposition for welding, as is shown at a b, Fig. 11. Each section is thenplaced in a furnace or forge and brought to a welding one end, as shownat c c, Fig. IV, and atenon turned upon the other end, as shown at d din the same figure, the diameter of the tenon being slightly greaterthan that of the mortise, and also tapered very slightly or bellmouthed,and the mortise made to correspond. This bevel is necessarilyexaggerated in so small a drawing as Fig. IV. 7. W

The next operation is to unitethese several sections. This is done byexpanding by heat the mortised or counterbored end of one section, andinserting therein the tenoned end of another, and allowing them to cool.When the two sections have thus been shrunk together, this portion ofthe tube is brought to a welding heat, and the tube slipped over themandrel and the joint welded; then another section is added in a similarmanner, and so. on until a tube of the required length has beenproduced. Thus, in Fig. IV, the section b is shrunk upon the tenoned endof section a, and, after heating and welding the joint, additionalsections, as 0, may be attached in a similar manner.

Instead of the mortise and tenon-described,

the sections may be screwed together, as,

shown at E in Fig. IV; but I prefer the plan first described; and,instead of the lap-weld shown in Fig. II, the scarf-weld shown in Fig.III may be employed. This latter joint will furnish more readily thesurplus metal necessary for welding.

In order to furnish a surplus'of metal about; the joints of thedifferent sections, these may;

be made thicker at the ends, as shown in Fig. IV, and this may beaccomplished by'sorolling the long plate (from which the short platesfor forming the sections are cut transversely) that it shall be somewhatthicker along the dressed edges before cutting.

If desired, a tube constructed upon my plan may be used with a coiledtube as an auxiliary, for the purpose of preventing exposure of the manywelded joints of the coiled tube to the action of the powder-gases. Insuch a combination, of course, the coiled tube is placed outside of thesectional tube, and they form together a compound tube of the properthickness for a gun-lining. Such a tube is illustrated in Fig. VI, inwhich D D represent the'outer or coiled'tube, which, in

thiscase, being but one-half the usual thickness, is much moreconveniently and perfectly fabricated than is a coiled tube of fullthickness.

Having thus described my invention, which,

in its application, isnotnecessarily restricted toordnance, but whichwill prove useful in all cases where .heavyand repeated internal strainsmust be resisted, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is

1. For the manufactureof ordnance, a lining or re-enforcing tube of=-,wrought-iron, (or other welding material composed of several tubularsections, each ,formed :of a :single plate, so that thefiberof 113116material .shall be disposed circumferentially, substantially as and .forthe purpose herein before .set forth.

2. A lining or ;-,re -en torcing ;tube,"coimposed of'sections,formed-Lot:plates and unitediupon a mortise-and-tenon principle, the sectionsbeing shrunk one upon the other and "welded together, substantiallyas-and for-thepnrpose hereinbefore set forth.

3. Thecombination .of the sectional tube-A B O with =the coiled tubeD,'--substantially as and for the purposezhereinbeioresettforth.

JOHN G. BUTLER.

Witnesses:

Guns. H. EGBERT, Orr-As. H. CAMPBELL.

